Latest news with #MikeMilstead
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Carfentanil: 100 times stronger than fentanyl
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – A drug that was initially made to tranquilize animals like rhinos and elephants is now being seen in South Dakota. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, carfentanil is a synthetic opioid that is 100 times stronger than fentanyl. 'A lethal dose is about the size of a grain of salt,' Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead said. 'Now it's made a resurgence and it's entering the U.S. once again, obviously extremely dangerous, very deadly, high risk of an overdose.' Why are the maple seed 'helicopters' pink? Milstead says even treatments like naloxone aren't guaranteed to work on someone who has ingested the drug. 'Things like naloxone or Narcan are less effective on carfentanil. It may take multiple doses at high rates and with not a likely good outcome. We hate to see it back, we haven't seen a lot of it. You know a couple of cases here,' Milstead said. According to authorities, there has been one death this year in Minnehaha County related to carfentanil. Prairie View Prevention Services is a local organization that works with young people to educate them on the dangers of drugs. 'I explained some of the side effects that we would see if someone were to be using it. A depressed respiratory system, losing consciousness and possibly death. And we see many more overdoses because of the potency and strength of that drug,' Prairie View Prevention Services founder Darcy Jensen said. Authorities and outreach programs both encourage those battling addiction to seek help. 'We need the public to know that and understand it, because if they've got a family member that's experimenting with these drugs, they're likely going to die,' Milstead said. 'Reaching out for help it's not something that you should feel guilty about or shame. It's the courage that it takes to reach out,' Jensen said. Prairie View Prevention Services offers free middle school meth education programming to all schools in South Dakota. According to the CDC, it saw about a 27% decrease in predicted drug overdose deaths in 2024 compared to 2023 in the United States. However, it also reported South Dakota saw about a 2% increase in predicted drug overdose deaths, and was one of two states in the country that saw an increase between those same years. In April, KELOLAND News spoke with the Omaha Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) about carfentanil. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
At least 14 possibilities: Where new SD prison might go
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Project Prison Reset voted in total agreement Tuesday that the current South Dakota State Penitentiary, located in Sioux Falls, which predates the state itself, should be replaced. The group, which came together after the South Dakota state legislature failed to appropriate money to build a new men's prison, is now examining how big a new facility should be and where it should go. Different submissions have come in to the governor's office from communities in eastern South Dakota. Beyond the Sioux Falls area, there's one section of land in Huron, two outside the city limits of Aberdeen that are about nine miles apart from each other, one outside Mitchell and another in and next to Big Stone City. Noem talks cybersecurity in California In the Sioux Falls area, there are nine possibilities; some are within the city limits, and others are close to Sioux Falls or not far from Canton or Worthing. Two are within the city limits of Sioux Falls: one to the immediate southwest of the intersection of Interstates 29 and 90 and another in the northern part of the city. Three are nearly within Sioux Falls city limits: one at the intersection of 259th Street and Marion Road, another south of Interstate 90 to the west of the city and a third similarly just outside city limits. Two are in the Worthing, S.D. area: one on Highway 18 and another slightly farther south. Another location is in the immediately vicinity of Canton, S.D. The location between Harrisburg, S.D. and Canton, where the state had previously focused on putting a facility, remains a possibility as well. There has been vocal and organized opposition to placing a prison in this location, and now, the perspectives of other communities are weighing on the minds of the task force as they consider submissions. 'Could you just have them in some way put in, what do the neighbors think of it?' Minnehaha County Sheriff and task force member Mike Milstead said Tuesday during Project Prison Reset's meeting in Springfield, S.D. 'I think it would be very advantageous to all of us if there was some feedback back from the locations from the people that lived around that if that's possible,' Republican lawmaker and task force member Jack Kolbeck of Sioux Falls said at Tuesday's meeting. Project Prison Reset's task force will meet again in early June. And it's a safe bet that between now and then, they'll learn what people in the different communities with proposed locations have to say. 'I would certainly encourage them to report back on what the neighbors said when they knocked on the doors going down the line of all the new houses of what they thought about the prison going in,' Milstead said. 'We put out this list yesterday,' Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen, who is chairing Project Prison Reset, said in response Tuesday. 'I'm guessing in fairly short order we'll know what the neighbors think.' The state has summarized submissions on its Boards and Commissions website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Task force unanimously recommends replacing SD State Pen
SPRINGFIELD, S.D. (KELO) — A sunny day in southern South Dakota welcomed members of Project Prison Reset's task force to Springfield, where the group sat down and made a decision Tuesday: unanimously voicing their approval to replace the current South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. 'We really haven't had an opportunity to talk about what we saw on the hill,' said Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead, who serves on the task force. 'And I know that's coming after the consultant's report, but I don't need a consultant to tell me that the place is a pit. And it's a horrible place to work. I would not let my son or daughter work in the state prison on the hill. I would not.' Documents reveal details on theft of Noem's purse The task force is also looking at the size and location of a new prison. Back in late February, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden listed those matters as the second and third questions Project Prison Reset had to answer after deciding if a new prison is even warranted. 'We are going to have a harder time with number two because of the financial aspect of it, and number three, the location of it, because of the politics,' said South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, who is also on the task force. With regard to location, the governor's office has received several submissions, so far all in eastern South Dakota. At the moment, nine possible locations are in the Sioux Falls area, including the long-considered Lincoln County site between Harrisburg and Canton. Other possible spots are in the Huron, Aberdeen, Mitchell and Big Stone City communities. None of the potential sites were picked or eliminated Tuesday; the questions of the size of a new men's prison and where it could be located will wait for another day. The task force's next meeting is scheduled for June 3 in Pierre, and after that, another meeting is set for July 8 in Sioux Falls. Eventually, the plan is for a special session of the state legislature to learn about the group's recommendations in late July. House Bill 1025 during South Dakota's 2025 legislative session would have originally appropriated money to build a new men's prison in Lincoln County, but the House gutted the bill before voting it down. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Milstead recalls jail expansion amid prison restart
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — From inmate medical needs to staffing, the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office has plenty to monitor as they work to improve operations at the Minnehaha County Jail. Members of the sheriff's office discussed what's going well and areas that need improvement during the Minnehaha County Commissioners meeting Tuesday. During Mike Milstead's time as Minnehaha County Sheriff, the current Jail was built and renovated, which gives Milstead unique insight for the Prison Project Reset task force launched by Governor Rhoden. Court Docs: Police shooting suspect stole guns 'It will be interesting to see, having gone through two major projects moving from an old, poorly designed facility into modern, efficient design and heavily utilizing technology, to see how that matches up at all with what we start working on with the prison reset group,' Milstead said. Another topic discussed by the sheriff's office was the high demand on the jail's medical staff. 'The medical need at the jail is historically high. That continues. With the population that comes in into the jail, there's not a whole lot of preventative care that goes on prior to coming to jail. While I say preventative care, there's really not a lot of care at all that goes on on the streets prior to coming to jail,' Minnehaha County Chief Deputy Sheriff Jeff Gromer said. While discussing the needs for people inside the jail, the sheriff's office also talked about what they're doing to keep people out of custody. 'Between our 24/7 program and our Pretrial Services Program today, we're monitoring more people outside of custody than we have in the county jail,' Milstead said. Minnehaha County Jail sees rise in violence 'We've done a really good job of developing and implementing programs that help us keep people out on the streets, so people that we can safely monitor and work through the system on the streets are not coming to jail,' Gromer said. 'They can continue to work, support their family, support the community, pay their taxes,' Milstead said. Milstead also says the number of inmates in jail is similar to what it was a year ago. In addition, the sheriff's office hired 43 new employees for the jail in 2024 with 38 of them still employed with them now. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Illegal Immigration crackdown comes to KELOLAND
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — KELOLAND News noticed a marked increase in immigration-related arrests in the past week. We've also seen an increase in immigration-related documents being filed locally in federal court. Court papers and jail logs tell the story, we've come across more than a dozen recent arrests and federal filings related to possible immigration violations in South Dakota. For instance in this case, dated January 22nd, Victor Manuel Jimenez-Rivera is accused of using a phony permanent resident card. The federal complaint is signed by a special agent with Homeland found at least 6 people booked into the Minnehaha County jail on Tuesday and Wednesday, who were being held on an ICE detainer. Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead says there is no doubt we are seeing an increase in arrests of those who are in the country illegally. 'With the new administration and their priorities, apprehending criminal aliens, looking for people who have committed crimes in the U.S. who are here illegally, with that as their priority we expected to see an increase in ICE arrests or ICE detentions,' said Sheriff Mike Milstead. Frustration with unreliable heat at Woodlake Apartments Last week, the Trump administration said it was expanding the use of 'expedited removal.' It gives enforcement agencies broad authority to deport people without requiring them to appear before an immigration judge. The raids are happening in the nation's largest Wednesday President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law, giving federal authorities broader power to deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally who have been accused of crimes. The Sioux Falls Police Department tells us officers were not directly involved in any recent immigration Milstead says local agencies including his office have always cooperated with homeland security, he expects many more arrests as the crackdown and deportations ramp up in KELOLAND. We reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials for comment on the arrests in Sioux Falls, but have yet to hear back from them. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
